Increasing Our Holding Power: Educators' Perspectives on Increasing Their School's Graduation Rate Público

Abstract

Over the course of this yearlong study, I considered the beliefs and practices of educators who work with students who are at risk of dropping out of high school. Using ethnographic case study methodology and drawing from Culturally Relevant Pedagogy and Appreciative Inquiry frameworks, I investigated the social and cultural contexts of educators' beliefs and practices toward moving students closer to graduation. The study finds that educators' beliefs and practices hinge on culturally relevant approaches to dropout prevention through attention to the school's a) culture and climate, b) instruction and curriculum, and c) personal and academic support structures. In addition to culturally relevant approaches, the study also finds that educators' beliefs and practices are consistent with African American educators who worked to increase the graduation rates of African American students during the postwar era. Understanding the role of schools in the dropout process in both contemporary and historical contexts has implications for dropout prevention and teacher education.

Table of Contents

CHAPTER ONE: OVERVIEW OF THE ISSUE. 1

Statement of the Problem. 3

Purpose of the Study. 5

Theoretical Frameworks. 7

Definitions. 10

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW. 12

Overview of General Factors Influencing Discourse on Dropouts. 13

Stereotypes of Students who Drop Out of School. 13

Risk Factors Associated with Dropping out of School. 15

Dropout Intervention Approaches. 19

An Overview of Dropout Prevention for African American Students. 24

Historical Efforts. 24

Current Efforts. 29

Summary of Literature Review. 31

CHAPTER THREE: METHODS. 33

Setting. 34

Data Sources and Collection. 39

Data Analysis. 47

Reliability and Validity. 49

CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS. 53

Culture and Climate of MSHS. 54

RQ1: Participants' Beliefs and Practices. 60

RQ2: Participants' Culturally Relevant Practices. 77

RQ3: Relationship to Historical African American Model. 92

Summary of Findings. 109

CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION. 113

Implications for Dropout Prevention. 113

Implications for Teacher Education. 115

Future Research. 119

Conclusion. 121

REFERENCES. 122

APPENDICES. 136

Appendix A: Consent to Participate Form. 136

Appendix B: List of Participants. 139

Appendix C: Examples from Artifacts Log. 140

Appendix D: One-on-One Interview Guide. 142

Appendix E: Focus Group Interview Guide. 143

Appendix F: Examples of Codes and Code Definitions. 145

About this Dissertation

Rights statement

• Permission granted by the author to include this thesis or dissertation in this repository. All rights reserved by the author. Please contact the author for information regarding the reproduction and use of this thesis or dissertation.

School	Laney Graduate School
Department	Educational Studies
Degree	PhD
Submission	Dissertation
Language	English
Research Field	Education, General Education, Secondary
Palabra Clave	African American students History of African American education Dropouts
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Siddle Walker, Vanessa, Emory University
Committee Members	Downey, Charles A, Emory University Cadray Jr., Joseph, Emory University

Última modificación

Primary PDF

Thumbnail	Title	Date Uploaded	Actions
	Increasing Our Holding Power: Educators' Perspectives on Increasing Their School's Graduation Rate ()	2018-08-28 14:32:08 -0400	Press to Select an action Download

Supplemental Files

Thumbnail	Title	Date Uploaded	Actions